Every chance I get to love on my Aunt Clytie, I take it; enjoy it, appreciate it. I realize that because she is 92, I may not have forever to show her how much I appreciate her, so I take advantage of the time I have right now. She has always been there for me. I can remember growing up with my mom and times were always hard. My mom was single, trying to work and go to college. School time would come around and it would be time to get my clothes and Auntie wouldn’t think twice. It didn’t matter if my dad was there to buy clothes or not. My mom, Auntie and myself would go to Belk’s or JCPenney’s and get my school clothes. I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t around. Not just giving her money to help and assist, but also pouring into me words of wisdom and encouragement. She would pray for me if I had even the slightest headache, point any and every situation back to the Lord and tell me when I was right or wrong and why. God is good because even when there wasn’t a daddy, there was an Auntie. There isn’t a momma anymore, but there is still an Auntie. I don’t think she knows the significance that she has in my life and the lives of my children. There isn’t anything within reason that she wouldn’t do for us, and it is much the same with me regarding her.
I gave her a pedicure today. Simple things please her. But while I was doing it, I was reminded of a sermon I heard Joel Osteen preach not long ago. He was talking about Esther, the peasant girl in the bible that ended up winning the heart of the King. Esther was an orphan. She didn’t have a mother or father. She was poor and didn’t have much. But she did have a Mordecai. Mordecai was a relative of Esther’s. He poured into her. Despite her situation, he told her who she could be regardless of her circumstance. When the time came to choose a queen, the King chose Esther over all the other candidates and I believe that it wasn’t just because of her physical beauty, but because of what she had within her.
Auntie is my Mordecai. She is who God sent to me to continuously pour into me, give me the strength I need, when I need it. We had a chance over this Thanksgiving holiday to spend time alone, away from the kids, just talking, laughing and drinking coffee. I’m older now, wiser now so I understand the weight and power of her words. As a child, when she would say, ‘You have great purpose in life’, I didn’t understand it. But now when she speaks, her words penetrate me in such a way that I wish I could bottle them up and hold onto them forever.
Thank God for my Mordecai.
“How much I owe you, baby?” she asked after I’d soaked and massaged her feet and painted her toes. “Not a thing, Auntie.”
It’s the least I can do.
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1 comment:
Well written article.
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